The redeeming qualities of iPhoneography
DSLR cameras are clunky.
They take top-notch photos, but they’re a hassle to tote around. I love my DSLR because it allows me to have complete control over how my photos turn out. However, I realize that I can’t rely entirely on my DSLR for taking photos because I don’t always have it with me. This is a problem that plenty of photographers have run into, and iPhoneography seems to be the solution.
Photographers aren’t opposed to taking photos with their phones. Some say the only camera you need is the one you always have with you.
Professional blog and magazine photographers and photography enthusiasts alike have embraced iPhoneography.
Mobiography is a website and digital magazine that showcases smartphone photography and offers tips for taking quality smartphone photos. Mobiography got started in 2012, and the digital magazine became available in 2013, with its photo content composed entirely of smartphone photos.
Founder, Andy Butler developed an interest in the “sub-culture” of smartphone photography when he realized the conveniency of taking photos with a phone rather than a DSLR. He created the digital magazine Mobiography to teach and inspire other photographers to use this unconventional type of photography.
Mobiography’s content focuses on tips for good smartphone photos, such as particular apps and tools that can improve the quality and diversity of smartphone photos. Mobiography also has articles about how to use a smartphone to photograph specific subjects, including nature, landscapes and people, and incorporate specific elements, including negative space, sillouettes and lines and curves.
Independent professional photographers in the blogging realm are also exploring the sub-culture of iPhoneography. David Molnar and Paul “Skip” Brown both focus their content on iPhoneography skills and tips. Molnar has written an ebook, called iPhone Photography Toolkit, and his blog features an iPhone only section of content. Brown has a blog called Skipology and is a prize-winning iPhoneographer. Skipology’s content is entirely composed of and focused on iPhoneography, including tips and his personal smartphone photography.
With a few simple techniques and additional apps, you can take photos with your iPhone that look almost like they were taken on a DSLR.
Photographers who usually shoot on a DSLR can still maintain the same level of quality and control shooting on an iPhone.
iPhone Photography School, a website for iPhoneography tutorials, wrote an article called “7 Advanced iPhone Camera Controls For DSLR Photographers,” which highlights some techniques to take quality iPhone photos. Some techniques for the native camera app on the iPhone include tapping to lock focus and set exposure level and using accompanying slider for exposure compensation. Additional apps like Camera+ allow you to shoot on manual and control additional elements, such as shutter speed, ISO aperture and white balance. Other helpful tools include post-processing apps and iPhone add-on lenses, which can improve depth of field and overall photo quality.
The following two videos illustrate how iPhones and DSLRs can capture the same subjects and produce similar results.
In part one of this video, Sam Mill gives some initial tips for getting the most out your iPhone’s camera. Mill demonstrates how setting exposure and focus, keeping your device steady and using the rule of thirds can allow you to take quality photos on your iPhone.
Then, in part two, he compares the photos he took on his iPhone 5s with photos taken of the same subjects on a Canon DSLR. When compared side by side, the iPhone photos look comparable to the DSLR photos in quality. In some cases, the iPhone actually look better than the DSLR photos in terms of exposure and focus.
I did the same field test as Mill with the native camera app for my iPhone 6 and my Nikon D5100 DSLR.
When shooting photos of a dandelion and my ukulele, I used touch focus to create the blurred effect of a low aperture on my DSLR.
I also experimented with the lock focus function on my iPhone when I was taking photos of the dandelion. The wind was blowing the dandelion around a little bit, but with the lock focus function, I was able to keep it in focus.
The exposure scale function on the iPhone native app was also very helpful. When I was taking photos of my ukulele and my dog, Daisy, I was indoors, so I didn’t have much natural light. Using the exposure scale, I was able to account for the dim lighting indoors and imitate the exposure of the photos I took with my DSLR.
Overall, my iPhone did relatively well compared to my DSLR at capturing a variety of subjects. However, as someone who is used to the quality of a DSLR photo, I wasn’t impressed. I couldn’t capture the narrow depth of field and nice blurred background that I’m able to capture with my DSLR. I also noticed that the exposure of photos I took with my iPhone was never quite right, even when I used the exposure scale function on the native app.
Then, I tried out a few manual camera apps.
Although the iPhone native camera app offers a few helpful tools like the lock focus and exposure scale function, it still is very limited in control, especially compared to shooting manual on a DSLR.
I downloaded two manual camera apps, Shutter and Shoot by ProCam, hoping that they would give me more control and allow me to capture higher quality photos than on the iPhone native camera app.
Shutter is free, and as you can only expect of a free app, it’s subpar. Shutter only offers a few additional functions, including sliding scales that adjust photo hue, ISO, focus and shutter speed.
Shoot by ProCam is a much better alternative. I especially liked it because instead of sliding scales with no unit of measurement like Shutter’s, it has sliding scales with traditional measurements for ISO and shutter speed, which imitates the experience of shooting on manual with a DSLR. Shoot also has some additional functions that allow you to adjust white balance and focus.
With Shoot, I was able to take photos slightly better than I could with the iPhone native app. The added control over shutter speed helped to improve exposure, and with the added control over focus, I came closer to getting the depth of field I wanted.
Still, I did not get convincing evidence that Shoot or other manual camera apps are able to capture the same quality of photos as a DSLR. Not being able to adjust aperture and not having a lens with an actual shutter is very restricting to what kind of photos you can capture with your iPhone. I’ve found that iPhone cameras are not well suited for capturing quick movement or situations with less than ideal lighting.
I found that there is a time and a place for iPhoneography, but it’s by no means a substitute for traditional DSLR photography.
DSLRs are equipped for professional photography, but the convenience of taking photos on your iPhone is undeniable.
As a reporter for my college’s student newspaper, I’m often on the go or tasked with covering impromptu events. Luckily, I always have a camera with me because I always have my iPhone with me. So whenever I end up covering an unplanned event, I use my iPhone to take photos, and it gets the job done.
However, when I am covering a planned event, I opt for my DSLR. If I know the kind of space where I’ll be taking photos, I can plan for how to adjust my camera’s settings to get the photos I need. My DSLR is reliable, and it allows me to have complete control over how my photos turn out.
Through my research, I’ve found that quality equals control. The control offered by a DSLR camera increases the quality of the photos it captures. In the same way, the lack of control provided by the iPhone native camera app and add-on manual camera apps limits the quality of photos taken on an iPhone.
So basically, your iPhone’s camera is a great tool for shooting photos on the go or taking cute photos of your pet, but it isn’t ideal for professional use. Although iPhone photos can achieve a professional look, they still aren’t as high quality as DSLR photos. Whereas iPhone photos can look grainy viewed on a larger screen size, DSLR photos maintain the same high quality, professional look across platforms.
An iPhone photo simply can’t match the quality of a good old-fashioned DSLR photo.
